Chapter 117: The Number One Scholar's Face. (Second update)...
Seeing that there was a chef named Wei in the room, Chen Yan suddenly couldn't move his feet and listened attentively to the conversation between the two, afraid of missing a word.
Chef Wei also noticed his little trick and deliberately avoided the question of the deputy bank selection. He changed the subject and said, "Speaking of which, your champion cakes have been selling quite well recently."
"It's just good timing." Lin Zhi said with a smile.
"Then do you know that there is a top-ranking soup pancake in Bianjing City?" Chef Wei laughed out loud.
"Zhuangyuan Soup Noodles? This is the first time I've heard of it." Lin Zhi had indeed heard of it for the first time, and a look of curiosity flashed across her face. "Which shop makes it?"
"It's not sold in the shop." Chef Wei said with a smile, explaining in detail: "The origin of this soup noodle is related to Mr. Qiu, the current Shaoqing of the Guanglu Temple."
Seeing Lin Zhi's bewildered expression, clearly not recognizing this Mr. Qiu, Chef Wei continued, "This Mr. Qiu is a very famous figure. He and his father were both top scorers in the imperial examination, an unprecedented father-son duo."
Linzhi had heard before that both brothers had won the imperial examination, and now he heard that both a father and a son had won the imperial examination, and he could not help but marvel at it.
Chef Wei continued, "It's said that when Mr. Qiu was young, his family wasn't wealthy yet, and life was very tight. Only when his father got first place in the monthly exam would he take him and his mother to the street to eat a bowl of soup noodles to celebrate."
"The soup noodles were incredibly delicious. After eating them, Mr. Qiu asked the owner why they were so special. The owner said they were made with the essence of a whole pig."
"Later, his father passed the imperial examination and became a government official. He wanted to find the shop again, but found it had closed long ago and the owner was gone. Until his father passed away, he never tasted that flavor again."
"No one knows what the soup cake was originally called. We only know that the Qiu family father and son favored it, so the shops in Bianjing all called it Zhuangyuan Soup Cake."
"Every year around the time of the Autumn Examination, the Qiu family would have someone come to their house to make these soup noodles, hoping to recapture the taste of those days."
Listening to this origin story that seemed like it should be recorded on Baidu Encyclopedia, Lin Zhi couldn't help but ask, "Does Mr. Qiu's family run a soup and noodle shop?"
Chef Wei couldn't help but burst out laughing, "Really not. That's the description. It's really surprising."
"After all these years, no one has done it?"
"That's the weird thing. After so many years, no one has managed to recreate the taste that Mr. Qiu remembers."
Chef Wei folded his arms over his chest and shook his head. "It's said that someone, wanting to curry favor with Mr. Qiu, even went to his ancestral home to study the local recipe for making sou bing (sou bing), and then visited him, only to end up unsuccessful."
"That's strange." Lin Zhi clicked her tongue twice, and became curious about what the soup noodles tasted like.
"If Chef Lin is interested, why not come with me to visit the Qiu Mansion tomorrow?" Chef Wei made an invitation.
"tomorrow?"
"The Autumn Examination just ended yesterday, and these past two days are the time when Mr. Qiu invites people to his mansion to make soup noodles once a year."
"But I wasn't invited?"
"No need for an invitation, just go in." Chef Wei said with a smile, "Many people will go over to join in the fun."
"Okay, I'll go take a look too." Lin Zhi agreed happily. Almost the moment she nodded, Wei Chu glanced at Chen Yan, the provocation in his eyes unconcealed.
Chen Yan chuckled and said without hesitation: "Then I'll go too."
Chef Wei's face froze: "What are you going to do?"
Chen Yan smiled gently, "I'm also interested in this Zhuangyuan Soup Noodle. Besides, Chef Wei, didn't you just say that anyone can come and see it without an invitation? Are you lying to us?"
Chef Wei was frustrated: "Of course you can go."
Chen Yan looked at his gloomy face and felt relieved. He added happily, "Then I'll wait for you at Sister Zhi'er's shop tomorrow."
When he mentioned the three words "Jie Zhi", he emphasized the tone deliberately. After all, Chef Wei could only call her "Chef Lin" and "Mrs. Lin" until now!
Chef Wei became even angrier after hearing this. He hesitated for a while, but finally had nothing else to say, so he got up and said goodbye.
Just as he reached the door, Chef Wei looked back reluctantly, only to see Chen Yan sitting on a chair, looking at him provocatively, and asking Song Jiaoniang in a deliberately pinched voice: "Aunt Song, what are we having for dinner tonight?" He was so angry that he almost suffocated a mouthful of blood.
As soon as he got on his donkey cart, Chef Wei immediately ordered his servant, "Go out and ask around on the street about the origins of that inkstone. The more details the better."
That evening, the servant reported the news he had gathered to Chef Wei: "I heard from the neighbors on the street in front of the Dali Temple that this Mr. Shen is from a family of officials and has considerable wealth."
When Chef Wei heard this, he frowned slightly.
Seeing this, the servant hurriedly continued, "It's just that Mr. Shen's father died young. Perhaps because he failed the civil service examination, he didn't rely on patronage to become an official. Instead, he became a clerk in the Dali Temple. As for how he met Lin Chu, no one can explain it clearly. All we know is that when Lin Chu and his family moved to Bianjing, the two families became close."
When Chef Wei heard this, his frown suddenly relaxed and he breathed a sigh of relief: "So he's a clerk."
Growing up in Bianjing, he had seen many descendants of officials who had fallen on hard times. Some said their fathers had been third-rank officials, while others claimed their ancestors had served as prime ministers. But they themselves had no talent, were bad at studying or business, and yet they still loved to act like officials, ultimately squandering their family fortunes.
The smart ones went home to buy land to support their descendants, hoping that their descendants would become successful. As for the foolish ones, they either squandered all their money or were defrauded. In the end, they could only drink every day and brag about the stories of their ancestors.
After a pause, Wei Chu continued, "Although he failed the civil service exam, he does have some resilience. He was able to humble himself and work as a clerk. He's better off than those who rely on their ancestors for support."
He knew many descendants of officials who had fallen from grace and were so poor that they had to borrow three or five strings of cash from others to celebrate the New Year. They looked down on merchants and clerks.
Although Chef Wei admired Chen Yan, he did not think that she was more competitive than himself. A capable female chef like Chef Lin should naturally be with him, join forces and make a name for herself in Bianjing City, instead of marrying her to a clerk with little future.
Thinking of this, Chef Wei calmed down.
On the way to Qiu Mansion the next day, Chen Yan discovered that Wei Chu's attitude towards him was not as aggressive as yesterday, but rather polite.
????? ?????
How should I put it, Chen Yan is even more upset :)
Facing the unhappy Chen Yan, Chef Wei was happy.
As for Lin Zhi who was caught in the middle, she paid no attention to the eye contact between the two, her mind completely focused on the bowl of champion soup noodles.
After Chef Wei left yesterday, Linzhi specifically asked Madam Yu about this matter, and sure enough, Madam Yu also knew about it. She told Linzhi that Mr. Qiu, in order to rediscover his memory of the "No. 1 Scholar Soup Pancake," not only sought out people to try it, but also offered a reward of 100 strings of cash. Therefore, every year after the Autumn Examination, many people came forward to try it.
Just as she was thinking, the noise outside suddenly came in. Lin Zhi lifted the curtain and looked out. She saw that the end of the road was blocked by carriages and horses. Even the gate of Qiu Mansion was blocked out of sight. She couldn't help but mutter, "Why are there so many people?"
Chef Wei, standing by, was also surprised and frowned. "I miscalculated. I'm afraid it's not just the chefs who are here. There are also many merchants who want to make friends with Mr. Qiu."
"Make friends with Mr. Qiu...ah." Lin Zhi recalled what Wei Chu said yesterday. "By the way, Mr. Qiu is now the Junior Secretary of the Guanglu Temple, right?"
You should know that the Shaoqing of Guanglu Temple is a fourth-rank official, and Guanglu Temple has four departments under it: Taiguan, Zhenshu, Liangyun, and Zhanghai, which are responsible for the preparation of meals, the production of oil, meat, and even the ingredients of hundreds of dishes.
In other words, all goods entering and leaving the palace had to pass through the Guanglu Temple, which shows its extraordinary status. To put it bluntly, if the Guanglu Temple designated a certain imperial merchant, that imperial merchant would definitely become rich.
Merchants all over the world are just looking for places to curry favor with, and now they are all eyeing Mr. Qiu's path.
As he was speaking, the donkey cart could no longer move forward.
The three of them simply got out of the car and walked. As they approached the gate of the Qiu Mansion, they saw the gatekeeper blocking a group of people and shouting with a grim expression: "My master said that except for the cook, no one else is allowed to enter!"
Chef Wei and Lin Zhi exchanged a look of bewilderment before strutting forward. One of them was the head chef at Haoweizhai, the other at Lin Zhiji, so they weren't stopped. After explaining their identities, they were let in. As for Chen Yan, he followed behind Lin Zhi, becoming his henchman.
When the three of them walked in, they realized the reason why the doorman looked so unhappy and anxious. They saw nearly a hundred people standing in the front yard, which was packed tightly.
Lin Zhi twitched the corner of her mouth and muttered, "If each person makes a bowl of soup noodles, Mr. Qiu will either die of stuffing or be drowned by the soup noodles."
Chef Wei was amused. He looked around and suddenly raised his hand to point at someone in the distance: "Look, that's Mr. Qiu."
Linzhi looked in the direction he pointed, and saw a man wearing a sky-blue silk shirt and official shoes standing on the steps. He looked to be in his forties, and looked very dignified, but his face was dark, as if he was holding his breath.
Mr. Qiu was staring at the people in the yard with worry. He wanted to find the taste of his childhood, but with the current situation, did he have to eat soup noodles every day for a month or two?
He wanted to ask someone else to help him taste test the food, but he wasn't sure who to entrust it to. The sound of people recommending themselves filled his ears, and he became increasingly irritated, almost wanting to kick them all out.
"Mr. Qiu." Chef Wei led Lin Zhi and Shen Yan forward and greeted them with a bow. "I am—"
Before Chef Wei could finish, Mr. Qiu recognized him and said, "You are Chef Wei from Haoweizhai. I just had dinner at your shop last time."
"That's right." Chef Wei introduced the people behind him. "This is Chef Lin from Linzhiji, and here's Mr. Chen. We heard you're starting to offer 'Zhuangyuan Soup Noodles' again, so we came here specifically to see what's going on. We didn't expect..."
"Oh, forget it. It's too hard to explain," Mr. Qiu replied gloomily, then bowed towards Lin Zhi. "Are you Chef Lin from Lin Zhi Ji? I've heard a lot about you." Lin Zhi Ji's fruit dishes had made the Guanglu Temple proud. Mr. Qiu had tasted them before, but this was his first time meeting Lin Zhi. He couldn't help but sigh, "I didn't expect Chef Lin to be so young. He's truly a hero from a young age."
"Mr. Qiu, thank you for your compliment." Lin Zhi smiled in return, her eyes fixed on Mr. Qiu's furrowed brows. "You seem to be frowning. Is there something difficult you can do?"
Mr. Qiu was startled at first, but then his eyes lit up and he took two steps forward: "I really have something to ask of you two."
Lin Zhi and Chef Wei were both startled, and then they heard Mr. Qiu say, "There are so many people here today. I wanted to send them all away, but I was afraid the chef I'm looking for might be among them. I'm really torn."
As he spoke, he bowed deeply to the two of them and said, "I hope you two can lend me a hand."
Linzhi and Chef Wei quickly moved aside, but at the same time they understood that Mr. Qiu wanted them to help select chefs.
The two of them had come to join in the fun, so upon seeing this, they agreed: "Mr. Qiu, you are too polite. Of course we can help you with this little favor."
Mr. Qiu was overjoyed and looked at the two men expectantly. Before the meal officially began, Lin Zhi had a few questions to ask: "Mr. Qiu, what's so special about the 'Zhuangyuan Soup Pancake' you've tried?"
Mr. Qiu smiled bitterly. "Actually, that was over thirty years ago. I don't remember it very clearly. I just remember the old man saying that the soup noodles he made were made by combining the essence of pork. The noodles were crispy and fragrant, the pork was tender, and the pork offal was rich and mellow..."
"Crispy?" This unexpected word made Linzhi and Chef Wei's expressions change slightly. When ordinary people describe rope cakes, they would say that they are elastic, but rarely use the word crispy.
Mr. Qiu thought about it and gave a positive answer: "It is crisp."
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